Words Count: A rewarding acting career discovered 'on the other side of fear'

Christina Swanson

Wednesday

Dec 20, 2017 at 2:42 PM

She had been studying for months, fighting back moments and tears of self-doubt that she could ever learn and remember all of this, and be believable to an audience, no less. The first time as the lead in a play, which happened to be "The Tea Party," following John Gibson’s "Peachtree Battle," one of the greatest successful runs in Atlanta theatre history next to "Driving Miss Daisy." The significance of this made it all the more intimidating as she found her knees shaking and heart fluttering waiting for her cue backstage.

And there it was! Walking out onto the stage opening night at the famed Ansley Park Playhouse in Atlanta, Tonglia Davis said her first lines meant to be funny, the crowd laughed, and she felt her jitters subside immediately learning why people get hooked on performing.

"It was intoxicating and beyond amazing to hear the audience laugh, sigh and respond," said Davis. "I didn’t want it to end and couldn’t wait to get back on stage the next night. After those first lines all fear disappeared and I was in awe finally doing what I’d been dreaming of for so many years. Shortly after that, I read the first play reviews saying my character was fierce and believable and I knew I could do this thing called acting."

Davis had worked through her fears and pushed past them, living the words of George Adair, "Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear."

With only a few acting jobs to her credit, the actor, playwright, producer and director John Gibson cast Davis, seeing her potential before she did, telling her, "You hold on and I’ll show you the ins and outs of this very competitive business."

She had put her dream of acting on hold for 20 years, focusing on running the household, raising her two sons and supporting her husband. But now it was her time to, "Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love" – telling words by the philosopher Jalaluddin Rumi. Davis may have subconsciously pulled some strength from the first person who believed in her when she needed encouragement to pursue something new. This was her Raines High School English teacher, Mrs. Demps, who asked her to join the newspaper staff even though she was unsure she could effectively contribute. "Mrs. Demps looked me square in the face and said, ‘You’re qualified and strong enough to do whatever you set your mind to do." Davis not only wrote for the school newspaper, but an editorial she wrote on detention ended up winning a high-school Florida Times-Union newspaper essay contest after her teacher submitted it.

Marrying at age 19 and then moving to Atlanta to follow her husband’s career path meant she had to grow up fast with no family nearby to help. "I had to learn to lean on my faith and find the confidence to overcome obstacles and figure out things myself," said Davis. When her two sons started college, she felt she could revisit her acting dream, start putting herself out there by taking classes and auditioning for small parts, and ultimately, see everything, including rejection, as a learning experience. "I’m a very spontaneous person so when I learned about upcoming auditions, I went for it, although it wasn’t always fun to either be called too much of one thing or not enough of another," said Davis. "Those first auditions, you tend to feel labeled and so I had to show the world I can do it and that I’m enough as I am." Like the encouraging words of tennis pro Arthur Ashe, "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

The first role she snagged was playing a medical examiner on the TV show "Swamp Murders," followed by a spot on the television pilot Shrink Wrap, which garnered her the nick-name "Really." Here Davis played Miss Carol, an office manager for a prestigious law firm who overheard employees misbehaving where a male employee talked disrespectfully about females, not caring who heard. She gave him a hard look, saying "Really" which became a pivotal scene in the TV show and was part of a focus group project asking attendees what they thought about the scene. With the women cheering for her, she became known as "Really."

Next was her first lead role in Gibson’s political comedy, "The Tea Party," about a prominent Black family in Mississippi with the wife determined to do anything to see her Republican senator husband become the vice president. The play took place around the time that President Obama was running for a second term. Although the script was daunting for Davis at the time, both her husband, Anthony, and the director believed in her and helped her prepare for the part.

Another director, producer and writer who has also believed in Davis is Ton’e Brown. Davis was cast in her first movie called "Rough Patch, Twisted Fate," based on the book also written by Brown. Although it was shot in 2014, it is just now being shown on Amazon Prime. This tells the story of a young man with all the good things in life who loses everything when his identity is stolen, juxtaposed against the story of a young woman whose life starts out lacking; then they meet and turn everything around. Davis played the girl’s nosy next-door neighbor and is amazed at how long it took to film a short scene where she’s pushed out the neighbor’s front door. "It took 30 shots and about 12 hours to shoot the scene from every angle and with different expressions which was both an exciting and exhausting process," said Davis.

Brown is a very giving and open director, according to Davis, citing that she always asks the actor what they think the character is about and how they see playing the role even though she has her own vision. "We tend to get stuck in what we think is the best way to do or say something," said Davis. "Acting has taught me to be open to other ways of doing things. This has been a big lesson because I am always meticulous in having things done a certain way — my way — and having to change instantly according to directions was such an eye opener that now I approach all changes in life in an open way."

"When I get a part, I look for aspects of the character that are like me and build from there," explained Davis. She says this is how she could believably play the ruthless character of Clarissa in "The Tea Party" because she did all her underhanded things only as a means of putting her family first.

Davis’ husband has joined her in performing, with both of them starring in two short films also authored, produced and directed by Brown — "Last Wish" and "Bereaved Heart." Both films are currently a part of the competition at the Canada International Film Festival and can be viewed on Amazon Prime. They were also honored to be a part of the famed Sundance Film Festival last January and the Howard Film Festival. Anthony Davis was awarded best actor in a short film for his performance in "Bereaved Heart" by the Howard Film Festival. "We’ve already done our happy dance about this," said Davis. They are set to star in the upcoming movie "Devastation," also by Brown.

Davis wants everyone to not be afraid to go for their dreams, but at the same time stay realistic. "Dreams don’t always live up to expectations and you have to learn patience through knowing that things happen the way they are supposed to happen," said Davis. "Being the best you can be in the moment is what will make good things happen. I’ve never been shy to try because if one goal doesn’t work out, I can always try something else."

Another dream she’s realized has been to be an independent business woman. Eight years ago she was introduced to direct selling and started off with Mary Kay products, next nutrition drinks and vitamins, and then she changed to selling affordable and beautiful Paparazzi Accessories. When a customer purchased jewelry from her online, she noticed she was selling purses that are crafted in Paris and fell in love with their unique look. The Ashley Jones line was newly available in the U.S. in January 2017 and was looking for distributors, (what they call ambassadors), so she jumped on board.

Selling both the jewelry and handbag lines are part of a life-creed she developed for all women to feel self-assured in their own skin through accessories that build confidence and strength. "My mission is for every woman to know they are beautiful and strong in their own way," said Davis. "When you wear nice jewelry and carry a beautiful bag it makes you feel good about yourself. In turn this gives confidence which can’t help but attract good things to you." Just as the actress Tracee Ellis Ross talks about: "I need to see my own beauty and to continue to be reminded that I am enough, that I am worthy of love without effort, that I am beautiful, that the texture of my hair and that the shape of my curves, the size of my lips, the color of my skin, and the feelings that I have are all worthy and okay."

There’s a lot of wisdom in the words Davis says to herself to keep trying, "Give your best each day, and leave the results up to God."

Share words that have made a difference in your life by contacting Christina Swanson at wordesign@att.net, or current@jacksonville.com.

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